This invention relates generally to a method and system for determining a machine suitable for manufacture of desired parts and, more particularly, to a method and system for determining a desired machine based on quality requirements of the parts to be manufactured.
The manufacturing industry is under increasingly more stringent demands to manufacture parts having high precision tolerances in order to remain competitive and successful. For example, the various parts manufactured for an internal combustion engine must meet exacting standards for tolerances to achieve maximum power and efficiency of the engine. Machine parts, electronic components, and various other manufactured products are required to be increasingly accurate and of the highest manufactured quality for industry to succeed.
The precision and accuracy of machined parts can only be a function of the specifications of the machines and machine tools which manufacture the parts. Various machine specifications, such as positioning of the axes along which the tool moves, straightness of the axes, roll, pitch, yaw, and squareness, are critical factors in determining the tolerances of the finished product. It is vital to use machines which meet the minimum accuracy specifications. On the other hand, a machine which is much more accurate than needed for a particular application may be much more costly than needed. Therefore, it is important to choose the correct machine for the required task.
Attempts have been made to predict the accuracy of machined parts by certain machines and machine tools to determine whether the machine will do the required job. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,909, Frey et al. uses virtual machining to determine the outcome of a machine having known specifications. The virtual machining method taught by Frey et al. provides information regarding a particular machine, which can be used to determine any sources of errors in the machine, or to determine that the machine does not perform an adequate job.
The shortcomings of the patent of Frey et al. is that only one particular machine is analyzed for each virtual machining setup. Although this feature may be useful in diagnosing problems with a particular machine, it would become very cumbersome if one was attempting to determine which machine is best for the job. An efficient and accurate method is desired to enable determination of which machine, out of many possibilities, would be the best choice for a manufacturing setup. Thus, it is desired to start at the opposite end from the method of Frey et al., and determine the proper machine to use based on the required finished tolerances of the part itself. More specifically, it is desired to have the ability to determine the required specifications for a machine based on a set of required tolerances of the finished part.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.
In one aspect of the present invention a method for determining a set of desired machine specifications is disclosed. The method includes the steps of inputting a set of data to a processor, the data including information relevant to a machine, a machine tool, and a machined part, determining a required set of specifications of the machine as a function of the data, and outputting the required set of specifications to a user.
In another aspect of the present invention a method for determining a set of desired machine specifications is disclosed. The method includes the steps of inputting information to a processor, the information being relevant to a machine, a machine tool, and a machined part, including information relevant to allowable tolerances of the machined part, determining a required set of specifications of the machine as a function of the information, including machine error specifications, and outputting the required set of specifications to a user.
In yet another aspect of the present invention a method for determining a set of desired machine specifications by a processor is disclosed. The method includes the steps of receiving information relevant to a machine, a machine tool, and a machined part, the information relevant to the machined part including at least one machined part feature, determining a set of worst case points for each of the at least one machined part feature, determining a set of potential error terms corresponding to the set of worst case points, determining a set of geometric dimensions and tolerances of each of the at least one machined part feature as a function of the potential error terms, and determining a resultant set of machine specifications as a function of the geometric dimensions and tolerances.
In yet another aspect of the present invention a system for determining a set of desired machine specifications is disclosed. The system includes an input module for inputting information relevant to a machine, a machine tool, and a machined part, a processing module for determining a required set of specifications of the machine as a function of the input information, and an output module for outputting the required set of specifications.
In yet another aspect of the present invention a system for determining a set of desired machine specifications is disclosed. The system includes an input module for inputting information to a processor, the information being relevant to a machine, a machine tool, and a machined part, including information relevant to allowable tolerances of the machined part, a processing module for determining a required set of specifications of the machine as a function of the information, including machine error specifications, and an output module for outputting the required set of specifications.
In yet another aspect of the present invention a system for determining a set of desired machine specifications is disclosed. The system includes an input module for receiving information relevant to a machine, a machine tool, and a machined part, the information relevant to the machined part including at least one machined part feature, a processing module for, determining a set of worst case points for each of the at least one machined part feature, determining a set of potential error terms corresponding to the set of worst case points, determining a set of geometric dimensions and tolerances of each of the at least one machined part feature as a function of the potential error terms, and determining a resultant set of machine specifications as a function of the geometric dimensions and tolerances, and an output module for providing the determined set of machine specifications to a user.